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Sunday, April 28, 2013

Ear infections are a common medical issue that
occurs in dogs.Ear infections are
typically caused by moisture that gets trapped inside the ear canal.The moist environment is a breeding ground
for infectious organisms, such as yeast and bacteria.Floppy-eared dogs are highly susceptible to
ear infections, especially in the summer time.Since the earflap covers the opening to the ear canal, air is unable to
circulate, which creates a warm, moist environment for the infectious organisms.

Ear infections are easily prevented by cleaning
your dog’s ears with a drying solution on a regular basis,especially floppy-eared dogs.During the winter, make sure you clean the
ears each time your dog has a bath.This
ensures the ear canal is dry after the moisture from the bath enters the ear
canal.During the summer, you should
clean the ears approximately every two weeks.Again, this is to make sure that they remain dry.If your dog is a swimmer, then the ears
should be cleaned out after each swim.

Several good ear cleaning solutions are available.You can also use a mixture of 1/2 white
vinegar and 1/2 warm water dispensed with a bulb syringe (like the ones used on
babies).Although not as effective as
the commercial cleaning solutions, it can be used if you are on a budget.Note: It is important to have an expert show
you the proper procedure for cleaning your dog’s ears before you attempt it at
home.

Several factors can lead to ear infections.As I stated, the most common cause is moisture
in the ear canal.Ear infections can
also be caused by a foreign object (such as a tick or grass seed) in the
ear.Additionally, they can be caused by
allergies.The skin in the ear is the
most tender skin on the dog’s body, so this is often where we see the
inflammation of an allergic reaction manifest itself.The most common allergies to cause ear
infections are flea allergies and food allergies (See #37 Allergies in Dogs).

Ear infections are easiest to treat in the early
stages.Symptoms include: redness, odor,
excessive scratching at the ear, or tilting the head to one side.Ear infections can occur in one or both
ears.As the infection progresses, you
will also begin to see a discharge.This
discharge can be an oozing pus or dark brown or black waxy build-up.

If your dog is showing the symptoms mentioned
above, then you should to take him to a veterinarian, so that a diagnosis of
the underlying issue can be made.If it
is your dog’s first ear infection, then it is most likely due to moisture
trapped in the ear, and a 10-14 day regimen of ear medication will clear it
up.However, if your dog has been having
reoccurring ear infections, then you are most likely looking at a bigger
problem.Chronic ear infections are much
harder to treat.Therefore, the sooner
you get a diagnosis, the better the chance of successful treatment.

KIDS CORNER’S EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:

Kids Corner: How did you come to write books using animals as your main characters?Billi Tiner: I am a veterinarian and have always loved animals. Some of my favorite books growing up were books that featured animals as the main characters (Charolette’s Web, The Incredible Journey, Black Beauty). I wanted to create stories for kids that were similar to the stories that I enjoyed reading. I love creating characters that display the loyalty, bravery, and compassion that our animal friends express every day.Kids Corner: Let me guess… your favorite animal is dogs?Billi Tiner: Dogs are my favorite, but I also love cats. I appreciate the unconditional love and devotion that dogs show their owners. They don’t care what you look like, how much money you make, or what kind of car you drive. They just want to love you. I love how cats can be extremely loving, but still maintain that air of independence.Kids Corner: What is your favorite scene in The Rescue Team?Billi Tiner: My favorite scene is when Anne and Ellie first bond with each other. That scene was based on how I met and adopted my dog, Ellie. She was the inspiration for the main character. I couldn’t resist using her name. She shows many of the same characteristics as the Ellie in the story, such as bringing home hurt animals.Kids Corner: What lessons can parents expect their child to learn from The Rescue Team?Billi Tiner: Children reading The Rescue Team will see positive examples of friendship and the importance of working together as a team to accomplish goals. The characters all demonstrate important characteristics such as courage, love, and caring for others.Kids Corner: What authors have influenced you? Any YA authors that have influenced your current work?Billi Tiner: I want to create stories similar to the authors that I enjoyed reading as a kid. I want the books to be fun and full of adventure. Some of the authors I try to emulate would be Beverly Cleary, Jack London, and Judy Blume.Kids Corner: Can we expect anything else from you? Any sequels to The Rescue Team?Billi Tiner: I have written a total of four books for middle-graders (Welcome Home, Heart of a Hero, Friends for Life, and The Rescue Team). Each of them have animals as the main characters and are written from the animal’s point of view. I have also written the first two books in a young adult western series (Bounty Hunter: The Beginning and Bounty Hunter: The Reputation). I have plans to write another middle-grade book featuring a dog who dreams of joining the police K9 unit. It is just in the planning stages right now, but I hope to begin writing is soon!

Sunday, April 21, 2013

The steel blade
of the knife pressed into soft, white flesh.Terror slashed through Ben.He
met the gaze of the man holding the knife and saw pure evil reflected in his eyes.The man grinned wickedly.Cold sweat poured down Ben’s back.His eyes darted back to the woman being held
in the man’s grasp.Mary Anne’s eyes
pleaded with him to do something.The
fear in her eyes cut through Ben painfully.He tried to move toward her, but something held him back.He felt as if he were mired in quicksand.The man wielding the knife laughed evilly.Mary Anne screamed.

Ben sucked in a great gasp of air as he
jerked violently awake.He sat up and
blinked rapidly, trying to clear away the images of the nightmare.Tracker, the coyote who was Ben’s faithful
companion, laid his paw across Ben’s lap comfortingly.Ben absently reached over to stroke Tracker’s
head, the action helping to calm his racing pulse.Slowly the terror that gripped him eased.

It had been three months since Mary Anne
Sumter had been kidnapped by the notorious outlaw, Tex Longley.The terror he had felt the day he rescued her
haunted Ben’s dreams nearly every night.Knowing that she had survived did not lessen the fear that coursed
through him each time the nightmare returned.

As he lay there in the dark, Ben thought
back to the day he had met Mary Anne Sumter.He was a bounty hunter and had been tracking Tex Longley for months when
he came upon the broken down coach that carried Mary Anne and her family.The second Mary Anne had stepped out of the
coach Ben had fallen head-over-heals in love with her.Her long blond hair, sparkling blue eyes, and
warm smile had melted his heart.

The coach was on its way to Bethany which
was where Ben had heard Tex Longley’s gang had been hiding out.Ben had decided to travel with the stagecoach.Four members of Tex’s gang attacked the coach
a few miles outside of Bethany.Ben and
the stagecoach rifleman, Cord McCoy, were able stop the outlaws’ attempt to rob
the coach.

A few weeks later, Tex and his gang
kidnapped Mary Anne to take revenge for the failed robbery.Ben and Cord tracked down the outlaws and rescued
Mary Anne.During the rescue, Ben shot
and killed Tex Longley.

Mary Anne’s parents wanted to send her to school
in Boston.Knowing that his profession
would only continue to bring danger into Mary Anne’s life, Ben convinced her to
go East.He promised Mary Anne he would
earn enough money for them to get married as soon as she finished school.Mary Anne had reluctantly agreed to go.

Since that time, Ben had been holed up in
a boarding house in Quigley, a little town about 10 miles from Jameson. Mary Anne’s father managed the bank in Jameson.Many times Ben had thought about going to Jameson
and telling Mary Anne he had changed his mind and he wanted her to stay.But each time, the memory of that terrible
day would flood back to him.He knew
being the wife of a bounty hunter would be no life for her.He was determined to make enough money to buy
a little ranch, so Mary Anne could live a comfortable life.

Quigley was the nearest train depot to
Jameson.So, Ben had stayed, even as the
weather warmed.He wanted to be there
the day Mary Anne boarded the train to go East.The decision to see her off was a hard one. Ben itched to get started tracking his next
bounty. The more outlaws he could
capture in the next two years, the more money he and Mary Anne would have to
start their lives together.

Finally, the day arrived.From his camp on the side of a hill
overlooking Quigley, Ben saw a buckboard carrying the Sumter family pull into
town.Ben saddled his stallion, Blaze,
and rode down the hill.He stayed in the
shadows behind the buildings that lined Main Street.He had not decided whether or not to let Mary
Anne know he was there.They had said
their goodbyes three months ago.It had
been very hard to let her go and he wasn’t sure he could do it twice.

Ben slid down off Blaze’s back and moved
to peek around the corner of the building that sat across the street from the
depot.The building shielded him from
sight, but gave him an excellent view of the depot.His heart lurched into his throat as he
watched Mary Anne hop gracefully down off the buckboard.Timmy, Mary Anne’s six year-old little
brother, began running around the buckboard whooping like a wild man.Ben grinned at the sight.He had missed Timmy, too.

Ben’s gaze moved back to Mary Anne.She stood on the boardwalk in front of the
depot.Her eyes scanned up and down the
street, an expectant expression on her face.She’s looking for me, Ben
thought.He wrestled with the question
of whether or not to make his presence known.He watched as Susan Sumter, Mary Anne’s mother, stepped to her side and
whispered something in her ear.Mary
Anne’s face fell and she nodded.Then
she turned and fled inside the building.

Ben felt his heart constrict at the sight
of Mary Anne’s sadness.He took a step
toward the depot and then drew up short.He moved back into the shadows and leaned heavily against the building.He rested his head against the wall and
closed his eyes.“What should I do, Blaze?Should I go to her?I’m afraid I won’t be able to let her go.”Blaze nudged him in the arm.Ben opened his eyes to look at Blaze.

Just then, the train whistle blew,
announcing its arrival.Ben pushed away
from the building.He looked around the
corner in time to see the train pull to a stop.I’ve got to see her one last time
before she leaves, he thought.Having made up his mind, Ben hurried across the street.His heart hammered in his chest at the
thought of seeing Mary Anne’s beautiful face again.He jumped onto the boardwalk and strode
purposefully through the depot door.He
quickly scanned the depot’s interior, his eyes taking a moment to adjust to the
dim light.

“Ben!” an excited voice screeched.

Ben turned to see Timmy streaking across
the room toward him.Ben opened his arms
and caught the boy as he launched himself into the air.

“Where have you been?Mary Anne’s cried almost every day.I don’t like it that you made Mary Anne cry,”
said Timmy sullenly.

Ben looked over Timmy’s shoulder and
spotted Mary Anne hurrying toward him.He sat Timmy down as Mary Anne came to a stop in front of him.Ben’s eyes moved hungrily over her, taking in
every part of her face.He noted the red
puffiness around her eyes and knew that Timmy had been telling the truth about
Mary Anne’s tears.

Ben had to clear his throat before he
could speak.The sight of her standing
before him had affected him more than he had expected.

“Hello, Mary Anne.I tried to stay away, because I knew that saying
goodbye a second time would be twice as hard as the first, but I couldn’t do
it.I had to see your face and hear your
voice one last time.”

“Ben, it’s good to see you again,” Susan
Sumter greeted warmly as she and Mr. Sumter joined them.

Ben’s gaze shifted to Mrs. Sumter.“Yes, ma’am, it’s good to see you again,
too,” answered Ben.

“Come along, Timmy,” said Susan, taking
Timmy’s arm.“Let’s let these two have a
few moments alone before Mary Anne must board the train.”

Ben smiled gratefully at Susan as she
ushered Timmy away.Then he turned his
gaze back to Mary Anne.They stared at
each other for several moments, neither really knowing what to say.

“I don’t have to go, Ben.I told you before that I don’t care how much
money we have.I just want to be with
you,” said Mary Anne softly.

“I can’t keep putting you in danger, Mary
Anne.We’ve talked about this.I haven’t changed my mind.I want you to go.It’s for the best.I need to make enough money to give us a
comfortable life.I will not put you in
danger again,” replied Ben firmly.

Mary Anne sighed heavily and reached to
lay her palm across Ben’s cheek.“You
are a stubborn one, aren’t you?It’s
part of why I love you so much.”

Ben stepped toward Mary Anne and crushed
her to him.“I love you, too,” he
whispered in her ear.Just then, the
announcement was made that it was time for the passengers to board the train.

Ben reluctantly stepped back.“I’ll be here waiting for you the day you get
back,” he promised.

Mary Anne nodded, no longer able to speak
as the tears coursed down her face.The
Sumters had made their way back to where the couple stood.Mrs. Sumter put her arm around her daughter’s
shoulders and began to move her toward the waiting train.

“You did the right thing by letting her go,
son,” said Mary Anne’s father, Nathan, as he and Ben watched the women moving
away.

“Yes, sir,” replied Ben.“I know I did.”

Ben moved outside as Mary Anne boarded the
train.He stood there on the boardwalk
with the Sumters as it began to pull away.Mary Anne pressed her face to the glass and waved frantically as the
train passed by them.

They stood there watching until the train
was out of sight.Ben sighed heavily as
he turned to leave.The next two years
were going to be the hardest of his life.

A few days
later, Ben rode Blaze into Hastings.The
town was thriving.Several people
hurried down the boardwalks on either side of Main Street.Unlike most of the towns Ben had experienced
in his young life, Hastings didn’t just have one long street splitting it down
the middle.Instead, several side
streets branched off leading to rows of small houses as well as additional
businesses.Ben felt a thrill of
excitement rush through him as he and Blaze made their way through town.

Raucous music and boisterous laughter
could be heard coming from the three saloons Ben passed on his way to the
sheriff’s office.I’m sure to hear some news about a bounty in this town, Ben thought
with satisfaction as he pulled Blaze to a stop in front of the jail.

Ben slid off Blaze and strode into the
sheriff’s office.As soon as he stepped
inside, a booming voice called out, “I’ll be with ya in just a minute!”

“Sure thing,” replied Ben.“I’m in no hurry.”

Ben glanced around the office.He noted the Wanted posters on the wall
behind a large wooden desk.He made his
way over to them to take a closer look.He recognized several of the faces from posters he had seen last
fall.There were a few new faces as
well.As he scanned the wall, his eyes
stopped on one poster in particular, Rhett Tipton.The reward for Rhett was $100.It was the biggest reward on the wall.He stared hard at the picture, trying to
memorize Rhett’s face.

Ben’s thoughts were interrupted when the
same booming voice he had heard when he entered asked, “So young fella, what
can I do for you?”

Based on the sound of the man’s voice, Ben
expected him to be a monster of a man.Instead, when Ben turned around, he saw a man who stood about five
inches shorter than his own six foot frame.The man had a slim, wiry build and looked to be about 60 years old.Some of his surprise must have shown, because
the man chuckled and said, “Don’t worry, you’re not the first person to be
surprised once they got a look at me.”

Ben felt heat climb into his cheeks at the
man’s perceptiveness.

“So, what is it that you needed?” the
sheriff asked.

“My name’s Ben Sharp.I wanted to asked you some questions about
any leads you might have on any of the men in those posters,” said Ben as he
nodded toward the wall he had been looking at.

This time it was the sheriff’s turn to
look surprised.“I’ve heard of you.You’re the kid who shot Tex Longley a few
months ago aren’t ya?They said it was a
kid bounty hunter who had done it, but I didn’t really believe it.”The sheriff shook his head incredulously.

“Yeah, that was me,” answered Ben, feeling
a jolt of satisfaction that the sheriff recognized his name.

“I heard ya was one heck of a good shot,”
said the Sheriff admiringly.“By the
way, my name’s Steve Hopkins and it’s a pleasure to meet ya, kid.Tex Longley was a man that needed killin’ if
there ever was one and it’s an honor to meet the man who done it.”

“Thank you, sheriff.Now, do ya have any information on Rhett
Tipton?” asked Ben.

“Last I heard, he had busted out of the
jail down Tucson way.Probably in Mexico
by now,” answered Sheriff Hopkins.

“Oh,” answered Ben with disappointment.He sure would have liked to get his hands on
Rhett’s $100 reward.

“Now, I heard that Sam Jefferson and his
gang were seen over in Atkins a couple of weeks ago.That gang is worth a pretty nice bounty.They’ve robbed the stage a few times.”

“Thank you, sheriff,” answered Ben as he
turned to leave.He was glad he at least
had somewhere to start.He hoped to find
out more from the folks in town.

“Good luck, Ben.Be careful.”

Ben nodded and stepped through the door.

A few hours
later dusk had fallen and Ben decided it was time to head out of town to make
camp.As he rode Blaze past one of the
side streets, he heard a young voice say defiantly, “I didn’t do nothin’.Leave me alone.”

“Charlie says you tried to pick his pocket
and we’re gonna teach you a lesson about who you try to steal from,” a gruff
voice replied.

A moment later, Ben heard the dull thud of
a fist making contact with flesh.This
was followed closely by a grunt of pain.Ben turned Blaze back toward the sound.As they turned onto the side street, Ben saw three men surrounding a boy
who looked to be about 12 years old.One
of the men stood directly behind the boy and held his arms behind his back.Another man stood in front of them.The third man stood a little to the side,
watching the other two.Without warning,
the man standing in front of the boy pulled his arm back and buried his fist
into the boy’s stomach.The boy doubled
over in pain and vomited.The third man
laughed at the sight.

Ben saw red.He roared in anger and urged Blaze into a
gallop.The three men’s heads turned in
surprise at the sound of the horse thundering toward them.Ben pulled his rifle from its scabbard.As Blaze galloped past the man who was
holding the boy, Ben swung the rifle like a club.The sickening sound of bone shattering filled
the air as the rifle made contact with the man’s face.The man screamed in pain and immediately let
go of the boy.

The boy scrambled away as Ben turned Blaze
around to face the other two men.The
man he had struck was lying on the ground, writhing in pain as blood poured
from his smashed nose.Ben whipped up
the rifle and aimed it at the man who had hit the boy.Blaze stomped his foot into the ground and
blew out angry puffs of air as they stood facing the two men.

The men stood with their hands in the
air.“Don’t shoot, mister,” one of the
men pleaded.“The boy tried to steal
from us.We were only gonna teach him a
little lesson.”

The two men moved toward their friend who
still lay groaning on the ground.It
took them a few minutes to get him to his feet.Ben moved Blaze to stand behind them.

“Now, move it,” commanded Ben.

Ben followed behind the men as they moved
down Main Street toward the sheriff’s office.By the time they arrived, Sheriff Hopkins was standing on the porch.

“What happened, Ben?” he asked.

“I caught them beating up a kid,” answered
Ben.

“What happened to that one’s face?”

“I introduced it to my rifle,” answered
Ben.

Sheriff Hopkins let out a bark of
laughter.“Well, I guess he’s lucky you
didn’t introduce him to the other end.”

Ben grinned in response.“Do you know these guys, sheriff?”

“Yeah, they’re local boys.They work on a ranch a few miles outside of
town.I’ll send word to their foreman in
the morning.Come on, boys.Get inside,” commanded Sheriff Hopkins.

“If you’ve got this, sheriff, I’d like to
go check on the boy,” said Ben.

“You go on ahead, Ben.I can take it from here,” answered Sheriff
Hopkins.

“Sheriff, you gonna let that kid get away
with bustin’ Charlie in the face like that?That don’t seem right.We was
only gonna scare the boy.We weren’t
really gonna hurt him,” one of the men argued as Sheriff Hopkins locked them in
one of the jail cells.

“Shut up, Mike,” answered Sheriff
Hopkins.“You three are lucky he didn’t
shoot one of you.That was Ben
Sharp.I’m sure you heard about what he
did to Tex Longley.”

“That kid was the one who took out Tex
Longley?” Mike asked incredulously.

“Yep,” answered Sheriff Hopkins, grinning
at the look of shock on Mike’s face.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” answered Mike as
he sat down hard on a cot in the corner of the cell.“I guess you were right about us bein’ lucky
he only introduced Charlie to the butt end of his rifle.”

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Many people see their dog scooting across the
floor and assume they must have irritation due to worms.However, scooting across the floor is almost
never a symptom of intestinal worms.Instead, it is almost always an indication that the dog’s anal glands
are full or impacted.

Every dog has two glands located on each side of
the anal sphincter.These glands are
filled with a liquid that is sprayed onto the fecal material when the dog
eliminates.The pressure of the fecal
material passing through the anal opening along with the constriction of the
anal muscle help to express the liquid out of the glands.When these glands do not empty normally, they
become overly full and the liquid can thicken into a paste-like material.The full glands cause an irritation and the
dog scoots on his butt in an attempt to empty the glands.Occasionally, the dog is successful and the
glands empty as a result of the scooting.However, often times, the material inside the glands has become too
thickened and they will not empty when the dog scoots.In this case, the glands need to be manually emptied.This is something you can be taught to do for
him.However, due to the unpleasant
nature of the task, most people elect to take the dog to a professional (i.e.
vet, vet tech, or groomer) to have them emptied.

Several factors contribute to full anal
glands.Some breeds of dogs, especially
small terrier breeds, are prone to having anal gland problems. Hereditary issues, such as position of the
glands, can contribute to the dog not being able to empty the glands
naturally.However, most of the time, it
is an issue with diet.If the dog is
overweight, then the glands are cushioned by fat deposits and are not expressed
when the dog eliminates.Also, the diet
can cause the stool to be too soft.Therefore,
it does not apply enough pressure to express the glands when the dog
eliminates.

So, should you worry when you see your dog
scooting?Not necessarily.As I stated earlier, often times the dog is
able to get the job done by scooting.However, if you see your dog scooting on a regular basis, and/or he
starts to bite at the area or act as if it is painful, then the glands are
probably impacted.Impacted glands can
rupture through the dog’s skin and cause a pretty nasty infection.Therefore, it is important to have the anal
glands checked anytime you see repeated episodes of scooting.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

A major decision that you have to make for your
pet is whether or not you are going to have him or her spayed or neutered.So, should you spay or neuter your pet?
Absolutely!

Multiple benefits result from spaying or
neutering your pet.All of these
benefits add up to one thing: your pet will live significantly longer.

For female
dogs: Each time a female dog goes through a heat cycle, her chance of
developing breast cancer increases.Therefore, it is important to have your female dog spayed prior to her
first heat cycle (approx. six months old).Another major benefit is that the older your female dog gets, the
greater her chance for developing a uterine infection (pyometra).Pyometra can be life-threatening.The treatment is to have the dog spayed.The risk of surgery is much greater when you
have an infection involved.So, get your
dog spayed before the pyometra develops!

For male
dogs: Intact male dogs are at a much higher risk of developing prostate
cancer than neutered dogs.Also, intact
male dogs can develop testicular cancer.Finally, intact males are more likely to wander away from home,
increasing the likelihood they will be involved in an accident (i.e. hit by a
car) or become lost.

So, as you can see, there are definite health
benefits to having your pet spayed or neutered.But, again, your bottom line is that they will live significantly
longer.We do not have them for very
long as it is, so why wouldn't you want to extend that time?

Another point to consider is at what age they
should be spayed or neutered.I am a big
supporter of pediatric spays and neuters.These surgeries are performed at 10-12 weeks of age.As long as the pet is over 2 lbs, then they
can undergo the surgery.Puppies that
are spayed or neutered at this young age heal much faster than older puppies.I worked in an animal shelter and performed
thousands of pediatric spays and neuters. It is amazing how quickly these puppies heal. They are up and moving right after the
anesthesia wears off, and the incision is gone within a few days.

FTC disclaimer: All books reviewed by Tinerbooks have been given to us free of charge by the publisher/author for thepurpose of review. We do not receive compensation for the review. All reviews contain our honest opinions. We doparticipate in the Amazon Affiliate program. Therefore, if a book is purchased through the link on our site, we willreceive a small referral fee from Amazon.